Maxima's Wings
by mizuki.monique
Summary: What would happen if Max was a princess? What if anyone found out about her wings, she would be in great danger.Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Once upon a time, a beautiful princess name Maxima was born. Her mother gently carressed her face. She giggled, trying to reach the toes. The fairy, Violet came over to the castle to bless her with a gift. She gave her the gift of wings, thinking it was a good idea. But she didn't think of the aftermath, the fact that Maxima would never have a normal life.

"No! Please! Just give her the gift of beauty or cleverness like most fairies!" She begged Violet to replace the gift with something less atrocious. But Violet scoffed.

"She looks like an angel now, don't you think," Violet said musically. It was true, Maxima was much more beautiful now. But Maxima's mom,Lilia, saw right through it. She bit her lip and shaked her head.

"No!" Violet was offended, and with a twist of her wand and a flip of her chesnut hair, she disappeared. Lilia cried over her baby.


	2. Different

14 short years later Maxima turned from a small, chubby baby into a strong-willed, independant, princess of Maltare. Laid out on her bed was a pink silk dress. Elegant and intricately designed. Usually Maxima would scowl at such a vulnerable dress. But underneathe was sturdy riding pants. She asked her stylist,Rosa, for something sturdier than a dress but Rosa had to follow orders from the king and queen so they settled on a compromise. People often speculated Maxima. Why would she need to learn how to fence? She has a thousand guards willing to die for her. The reason is a thousand guards may not be enough some day.

Maxima had wings. Other kingdoms would do everything in their power to kidnap Maxima. She would be an amazing weapon. Not only did she have wings, but she was stronger than most men, and amazingly clever. This is why Maxima did everything in _her_ power to keep her secret. Her mother was the only other one who knew. Even her father didn't know. It was better for him. For one thing Maxima always wore a very tight corset to hide her wings. They had to hire Rosa, the best tailor in the kingdom, who didn't need to measure Maxima to make her clothes.

But she wasn't perfect. She sometimes took off her corset and cut slits in some of her outfits and took midnight flights. This, in itself was extraordinarily dangerous, should someone see her. One time she was mad at a cocky "suitor". He was saying how Maxima could never be queen by herself (which is what Maxima intended to do someday). That she needed a king because girls weren't smart enough and that she should stick to her etiquette lessons. Maxima accidently broke ever bone in his jaw. She meant to just slap him in the face, but she didn't know her own strength. She forced her cousin to claim that he fell down the stairs, rather than to reveal her.

She hated that cocky suitor and barely regretted breaking his jaw. Her father even suggested sending him a card. Would she marry someday? Maybe, she thought. But if she were to marry, it would be out of love. Most princesses married out of benefit. Is he a prince? Is he rich? Has he bought you lots of jewelry yet? Maxima swore to herself she would never be so blind. The only males she were fond of were her dad, Gazzieur, and Fang. Gazzieur was only 7 years old but very creative and intuitive. He was the prince of Deralia and Maxima enjoyed his frequent visits with his talkative, but very sweet elder sister Nudgelie. Fang was a servant in the castle. Maxima has learned it would be wise and kind to learn the names of every servant in the castle. But she liked Fang especially. He's a great friend, listener and he shared the same views as her. And if she did marry, she would have equal power. Unlike lots of kingdoms where the kings have the majority of the power.

Maxima pulled on her dress and hid the pants underneathe. Then she braided her hair down her back and hurried down to the first floor to get some breakfast. On her way, she bumped into Fang.

"Good morning, Fang," She said cheerfully.

"Max," She smiled at the fact that he stopped calling her Princess. That title annoyed her so, and Fang knew her preference of the nickname. She continued to descend down the stairs and Fang followed her.

"In a hurry?"He asked, as the princess scarfed down her breakfast.

"A new family has moved into the kingdom and I wish to greet them," said the princess.

"May I come with you? I don't work today and I don't have anything to do,"

"Of course,"

"Have you learned their names?"

"I've heard they've got a son named Iglande, but those are just the rumors going around,"


	3. Meeting Angela and Iglande

"You might want to wear something less... ostentatious," He was right, I couldn't just go out into the village wearing 100 pink diamonds on my dress. Most of the people in the village are kind ,but there are dangerous people out there. Not to mention all the unnecessary attention a princess gets.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," I climbed up the staircase two steps at a time. I opened up the double doors into my room and changed into some extra peasant clothes I have just in case. Then I went downstairs to a patient Fang.

"Okay, lets go," We lived in a relatively small kingdom so we didn't have to get a horse. We strolled the streets and no one gave me second glance. I saw a kid around my age selling apples. I didn't recognize him, so I assume he must be Iglande. He was tall, blonde, and wore a thick pair of darkened spectacles.

"Hello, you must be Iglande. I'm Maxima," I said, sticking out my hand. He jumped, as if I sneaked up on him.

"Hi. I'm Angela, and that's Iglande. He's blind," Angela was around 4. She has curly blonde hair than fanned out like a halo. She wore a worn-out pink dress. She was very lovely.

"Oh, I'm sorry,"

"By the way, thank you for the gift basket, that's very kind of you," She said. My brow furrowed. I brought a gift basket but its tucked into my sack, surely out of view.

"Oh! Uh, I mean that I assume you brought us," She added in nervously.

"Um, okay then," I said confused as I handed her a welcoming gift basket full of cheese, apples, and hearty raisin bread. "Welcome to Maltarre,"

"Thank you, Princess," How did she know I was a princess? It was like... she could read minds. There were witches and wizards who could read minds, but she hardly looked like a witch. Are witches normally so lovely? Maybe she was blessed by a fairy, like me. Fairies usually only bless nobility and she was a peasant. Even if a fairy were to bless her with mind-reading, that would be illegal. The Erasols (our government) destroyed any fairy who would attempt to give that gift. I was going to press for more, but what would I say. "Excuse me, but can you read minds?" She would think I was crazy. But then again, I did have wings, was it not possible that this Angela could read minds?

I turned to leave but I was so absorbed in my thought I tripped, pushing the cart of apples and tipping it over. The cart of possibly hundreds of apples fell on Angela!

"No!" I screamed. People started screaming around. Then delicate little Angela crawled out. Unharmed. And if I wasn't shocked enough, the cart slightly ripped the back of her dress revealing two 8- foot wings.

(Like the cliff-hanger? Don't worry I'll update soon. Please Review!


	4. Mind Reading

I saw her wings for half a second before Fang and I jumped onto her covering her wings. Her wings folded neatly in the back and I stood behind her, her wings completely, concealed. Everyone crowded around Angela. There were a lot of "Are you okay?" Get the doctor" and "Oh dears!". I wouldn't dare budge.

I know what it would be if it was me. I wouldn't let anyone be in that much danger. It was strange, I thought I was the only one cursed with wings. I hadn't realized that someone, in my own kingdom would have the same thing! Why wasn't Fang shocked at all? He was close enough to see her wings but instead of yelling, he protected her. In his eyes were... understanding? Our expressions were identical but he must have a different reason. 3 winged children living in the same kingdom?

And what was Iglandes part of this? He was Angela's sister after all. Perhaps he didn't know. After all, my father doesn't know.

"Maxima,Fang I know you're like me and my brother We need to get out of here!" She whispered so softly, I wasn't sure I heard it. But Iglande definitely heard it. He scooped her up, motioned to us, and then ran. We ran with him. I didn't stop to turn around to see all the peoples expressions. I'd imagined they would be confused, but they let us pass. They probably thought that we were going to the doctor. We slowed down to a jog, as we ran into a forest. We ran for about half an hour. I was panting heavily and lowered myself onto a patch of moss.

"Explain yourselves," I was able to say during panting. Iglande stiffened, but Angela put a hand on his shoulder.

"Its okay,brother," She said calmly. Then she peacefully closed her eyes. "Iglande, they're like us,"

"Impossible," He simply stated. Angela laughed.

"Iggy, they can't fool me," She rolled her eyes. My suspicions were confirmed.

"You can read minds, can't you?" She nodded solemnly. Something about what she said bothered me.

"So, we _all _have wings?" My eyes flickered to Fang.

"Yes,"

"But how is that possible?"

"Well, how did you get your wings?" I hestitated, not sure whether or not to answer. Then I realized that I helped save her (after I almost killed her) , anyways she reads minds anyways so there really was no point.

"When I was born, _Violet_ blessed me,"- I said her name with as much disgust as I could muster. -"with these," I unfolded my wings. I winced slightly, I had not stretched them out in over 2 weeks.

"So unwise and irresponsible," Angela said. She seemed very mature for her age. Well, I didn't know how old she is but she looked around 4.

"I'm 6," Oh, but still. I often acted older than other girls my age. I have heard that with wings your intellect is improved and you're overall fitness.

"So how did you get your wings?" Not talking to anyone in particular, I was curious to know how anyone got their wings. Fang looked up. 


	5. Crystal Of Life

I gazed at him curiously.

"I'm...not sure," He said, furrowing his brows. "But I do have this," He lifted his wrist, and there was a black wristband that clinged tightly to his wrist. I've noticed it before, even asked why he wore it all the time. He always diverted the subject. I never gave the band much thought. But now I gaped at it. Trying to figure out what was so special. It certainly didn't look special. It was so simple. Half the people in the kingdom have bands like that. He saw my confusion.

"Look closer," He said. I scrunched my eyes and leaned in. There was a tiny green crystal, the size of a pinprick. So intricately carved into the shape of a healthy man. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the Crystal Of Life. There were 3 stones. The other two were Gem Of Wealthiness. Jewel Of Immortaility. If you were dying, a shard of it would make you the healthiest man in the world. Use of it was illegal now. It didn't even matter if it was illegal. The Erasols destroyed all the stones. Thats what the tutors said anyway. The closest thing I've ever seen of the Stone of Life was a crudely drawn artists version. Of course I could be wrong. That crystal could be any other crystal. No, I've been right all this time, who's not to say I would be this time.

"F-Fang, you were almost dead?"

"I don't know, but whenever I try to take of the wristband, I feel... death." He chose that last word carefully, as if there was no other way to describe the sensation. He looked regretful as if he attempted to take off the wristband often.

"Go on," He took a deep breath, and continued.

"I don't remember any near death experience. Perhaps I was a baby. I think it has something to do with the wings," This puzzled me.

"What about the wings?"

"Princess, having wings puts us in a lot of danger," said Iglande. The sound of his voice made me jump. I'd forgotten that he and Angela were there. "Do you know how many kingdoms would love to use us as weapons?" He winced. I'd never thought of that. I was stronger than the average man. I had faster reflexes. I was more intuitive. And lets not forget about the giant feathers poking out of back. Of course they would want us. We would be the best weapons they ever had. Any kingdom with the fortune to own us would be the wealthiest. They would dominate every other kingdom. They would make us reproduce to make more weapons. The thought of that possible future made me cringe. How could've I been so stupid? Taking midnight flights and slicing slits in my dresses.

"What are we to do?" I asked. I thought about how Angela crawled out from underneath the apple cart. Unharmed. Surely rumors were speading now. It wouldn't be long till it reached some greedy king.(Not my father of course) This was all my fault. If I weren't to push that apple cart and expose us, we wouldn't need to make some hasty escape plan. Guilt overflooded me. Iglande and Angela would be selling apples right now. I wondered what would happen if I was like a normal princess. I would be sipping tea with all the other conceited princesses by now, while gushing over each others over-priced new dresses. I wouldn't have to worry about wearing that too-tight corsette anymore. I would be planning to find a suitable prince. One with lots of money. Would I be horribly conceited and brainless? Probably. But I would be _happy._ Being smarter is so hard. If I wasn't smart, I wouldn't of noticed that Angel could read minds, and never push over that cart because I was so absorbed in thought. But then... I wouldn't of bothered meeting Fang. What would Fang be to an ordinary princess? A worthless servant? He was so much more.

"We'll have to run," said Iglande, breaking my train of thought.

"Where?"

"Larrock,"

"Larrock?" I asked, aghast. Larrock was nearly a two month journey, walking. Walking. We had another form of transportation.

"Do you know how to fly?" Iglande asked. I blinked. The last time I flew was 2 weeks ago. And that was only for a few minutes. I flew quite clumsily.

"I'll admit, I've hadn't had a lot of practice," I admitted sheepishly.

"We'll have to teach you," Angel stood up and Iggy held onto her arm. She began to walk west, towards the setting sun.

(No offense towards princesses! I know some of them are nice and I have nothing against them! But in this story,they're the stereotypical conceited, brainless, spoiled brats.)


	6. Nudgelie And Gazzieur

Okay first of all to all the people who have been following this story, I'm so sorry I haven't updated since December. I kinda forgot about the story and just now saw

it when I got on fanfiction. So yeah-really sorry! I promise I'll update much more often

-at least once every 2 weeks! Oh and big thanks to NeverthelessAFan for all the nice

reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride Series

I sighed enviously watching Angela and Iglande gracefully glide through the clear blue sky. I flapped awkwardly behind them, feeling like the ugly duckling. "Extend your wings and catch a current," Iglande patiently reminded me for what felt like the millionth time. Whenever I did, I quickly dipped and although Angela said this was normal, I was still scared enough to quickly and awkwardly flap my wings again. A couple pigeons started to fly alongside us. They seemed to be mocking me, showing how flight was effortless to them. They didn't even seem to notice me glaring daggers at them. They just soared, flapping lightly every once in a while, like a perfectly planned airshow. I felt a hard jerk on one of my wings, and as I whipped around to punch the offender as hard as I could, I saw it was Fang. Then another jerk on my other wing, this time I saw it was Iglande. "What are you doing? " I shouted. With a wink, Fang said "Helping you, princess," I scowled at the annoying title ,and I then realized too late what they were doing.

They pulled my wings to the point where they were fully extended. I tried my hardest to flap them, pull them back, something! But their grip was too strong. And the more I stuggled, the harder they held their grip to the point it was almost painful. "We're going to let go," Iglande explained. "But keep your wings extended or we're just going to yank them straight again. Understand?" " Okay." I sighed, and I meant it. I knew they were going to yank my wings until I learned. After several attempts (Okay, a little more than several), I could finally do it. "How do you feel?" Angela asked. "I feel like my wings were sucked into a tornado," I grumbled. Angela laughed. A small tinkering laugh. "But I guess that was necessary," I admitted with a small smile. "Thank you," I told Fang and Iglande. Iglande nodded. "Anytime," responded Fang. We landed in a small roundish clearing.  
"Okay, so the first step to get to Larrock is to head East. Does anyone have a compass?" Angela asked, pulling out a large map from a fold in her dress.

We all shaked our head no. "Well then I guess we're at a dead end," She sighed. "Wait,

I think we can make a compass," I said quickly, glad I took survivorness skills lessons instead of crochet. "Really how?" She asked. I took Iglande's container of water and popped the cap off. I looked down, looking for some water; I found a small puddle and dipped the cap in the small pool, it was now filled to the brim with clear water. I removed the safety pin attached to the sash on my dress ,and carefully broke the pin in half so it was just the metal needle. Clutching the needle and the cap in my left hand, I plucked a long, cupped leaf from a nearby tree. I gently laid the leaf in the cap full of water, and adjusted it so it would float. Taking the needle, I rubbed it against the hair on the side of head many times. I then placed the piece of charged metal on the leaf, and held the cap as steadily as I could. The leaf started to spin and then stopped when it was pointing the north and south poles. We located which way East would be. "That's great!" Angela said. "Yes, however we can't fly with it. The water will just slosh around and it won't work. We'll have to land and rebuild it," I reminded them. "Oh that's fine," Angela reassured us. "We have to go East for several hours anyway. We'll just fly for that long, take a break and reb-,"

"Maxima?" called out a familiar voice. I turned toward the sound and saw Gazzieur and Nudgelie. They looked terrible, they had scratches on their faces and appeared distraught. Angela narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "How did you find-?""We'll discuss that later," Nudgelie interrupted me. "We heard the rumors, are they true?" Before Iglande could open his mouth to quickly say "Of course not!" Angela admitted "Yes. And you're winged too,""How did you know that?"Nudgelie widening her already wide eyes in shock. "I read minds," Angela said casually as if she was saying "The weather is nice today," Nudgelie and Gazzieur gaped. "But first things first," Angela continued. "how did you find us?"

(any guesses to how they did?)


	7. A Palace Guard

Gazzieur's POV

"We found a message," I admitted. I wasn't lying, we did. I pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment with barely legible writing on it. It was signed M.Y  
"A message?" said the dark-haired boy. I nodded.  
"What did it say?" asked the blonde-haired girl who looked to be a little bit younger than me.  
"You know, usually when you meet a person for the first time, you usually how they are, and what they're name is; you don't demand to know that person ran into them, and what their private message say," I responded. To be honest, I didn't really care; I just wanted to annoy them a bit.  
"Very well," spoke the boy who had such a striking resemblance to the girl who was a little younger than me that I knew they must be related. "How do you do? My name is Iglande, and what does the note say?" He asked, extending his arm. Strangely he didn't extend it exactly at me, he was a bit off as if he was dazed. I also noticed he didn't exactly make eye contact with anyone. I raised an eyebrow at Angel, waiting for her to confirm what I what I suspected.  
"Yes, he's blind," she said.  
"Oh," Unsure of how to answer. Everyone (even Nudgelie!) was looking at me, waiting for me to place the note into Iglande's expectant hands. For some reason, I didn't want to. I don't know if it was because Angel was acting all superior, or if it was just the distrustful atmosphere enveloping us like a thick fart. Too embarrassing to point it out, but too pungent to ignore it. From the way they were looking at me, they could probably tell I wasn't going to hand it over. It was getting extremely uncomfortable.  
Maxima was staring at the note, fear obvious in her eyes.  
"Is-is that a Goren?" she gasped, horrified. A Goren is a very small type but very dangerous type of scorpion. If injected with a Goren's venom, the victim will experience a slow and painful death after 8 hours if not treated. Even the survivors had to deal with many unpleasant symptoms. I froze, trying not to panic. Goren's are very easily frightened. I brought my wrist to my eyes, looking for the Goren so I can very gently brush it off. I rotated my wrist in all different angles very slowly. That's when I realized Goren don't live in wet, green places; they prefer deserts.  
"There aren't any Gorens on me," I said. Maxima breathed a very dramatic sigh of relief.  
"Oh sorry, must've been a gnat or something like that," she shrugged. I realized while I was rotating my wrist, checking for Goren I prominently displayed the note. Max had seen it and began to recite it the message on it. 

_"Venture past the valley of suns  
Where the trees cling to ground  
Go barefoot to where lions fight  
Yet they shan't make a sound  
When they hear the voices afar  
They will find ones like them  
Strong, brave, able to fly  
One will possess a saving gem"_

_-M.Y_

I suppose I should've been mad. Most people would. I wanted to be, but I was impressed.  
"Wow, who knew a dainty little princess like you could do something so devious?" I teased, knowing a dainty, little princess is the last thing Max would be.  
**  
Max's POV  
**  
"Thank you?" I said it like a question; unsure on whether that was a compliment or an insult. I decided it was both, an insultiment, or a complisult.

"Wait, you said you found the message," Iglande continued. "It wasn't personally delivered to you?"

"Well, there was the messagers were giving us the regular letters. Invitations to balls and all that," Gazzieur wrinkled his nose in disgust, making it clear that he never really cared for celebratory balls. "One of our guards took one of the letters, saying that it was his mail and the messager didn't mean to give it to us. But as the guard took it, I saw a glimpse of our names," He said, gesturing to Nudgelie and himself.

"Well we were bored and curious, so of course we snuck in there and took the letter," Nudgelie said, as if anyone would do that.

"And how did you manage that?" I laughed, slightly proud of them that they could perform such a task.

"I just set fire to one of the least important rooms in the house as a distraction," Gazzieur grinned, proud. Nudgelie huffed; clearly, she disagreed. "The etiquette room," Although Nudgelie was far from being conceited or ditsy, I could tell she liked being a princess.

"This is quite interesting, can you explain exactly how you found us?" Fang asked. I was curious to that too. The clues were quite vague and mostly sounded as if they could be a children's poem. Not a series of top-secret clues that lead you to powerful bird kids.

"Well, _'venture past the valley of suns where life the trees cling to ground.'_" Nudgelie started. "That was easy enough, we found sunflower valley, where slightly past that a bunch of people were cutting down trees, making then 'cling to ground'. _'Go barefoot to where lions play' _That was a bit harder so we just kept flying through the forest for several hours looking for something important until we found a long shallow river. We needed a drink; we decided to go barefoot through the water since that's what the poem said anyway. We were really scared now, looking for lions. I found a very shiny-looking rock amidst all the ones in the river. Stepping on it, made a tree shed its outer layer, showing a carving into a large tree of majestic lions playing. The carving was so beautiful; it must've been done by one of the most skilled artists in the land. Which would explain the _"but they shan't make a sound," _part. We walked in that direction until we heard a bunch of unfamiliar voices, then we heard you're voice Max, so we summoned up the courage to come here and find you or _'They will find ones like them, strong brave able to fly,' _part," Nudge finished. "Still kind of confused about the whole 'one will possess a saving gem,' part though." Nudge said knitting her brows in confusion.

I risked a glance at Fang, knowing now was not the time to tell them about that the saving gem part meant that Fang had the Crystal of Life. We were all pretty impressed but then I remembered something. Someone knew how to find us, a certain "M.Y." That sent shivers down my spine. But then again that someone meant to give the message to Nudgelie and Gazzieur. Does that person know about Fang's crystal of life? And then there was the guard to worry about. He was the one that tried to steal the message. Has he already read the poem? Has he memorized it? Is a palace guard that somehow knows our secret hunting us down while we stand here and do nothing?

**Like it? Thanks for reading this chapter and please review!**

**XOXO**

**Monique!**


	8. The Flock

**Disclaimer: " Hey James Patterson! You are so awesome!"**

"**Why?"**

"**Because YOU wrote the amazing Maximum Ride Series and I didn't! I don't own the series!"**

**Max's POV**

We were all slightly unnerved at how easy Gazzieur and Nudgelie could find us, so we decided to walk for a few hours through the Mazda Forest until we were sure we were far from civilization and then make camp. We eventually found a cluster of wolfberries. I took them off the bush and handed a handful to everyone. We plucked off the hairy, egg-shaped leaves and pinkish flowers to snack on the white berries as we walked. I led the way, occasionally checking the homemade compass and constantly kept everyone in my peripheral vision. All of our footsteps were synced with each other, which is what usually happens when you walk with a group of people for more than several minutes. So it sounded as if it was one heavy person was walking, instead of 6 light-footed people walking. It was very quiet, I could almost swear that I could hear bugs munching on a leaf somewhere.

"You know what?" began Gazzieur, breaking the disheartening silence. "All of your names are quite a mouthful, do any of you have any nicknames?" Angela laughed.

"Are you just asking that question to hide the fact you forgot all of our names except Maxima's?" She asked, bemused.

"Are you asking _that _question to attempt to sound wise at the fact you brilliantly figured out my plan when all you had to do was read my mind?" He retorted. "Besides no, I didn't forget your names," He said very unconvincingly.

"Is Angela really so hard to pronounce?" Angela asked, deciding to play along.

"No," Gazzieur started, searching for a plausible reason to why he would want to nickname Angela besides the fact he forgot her name. "You just look more like an 'Angel' to me," He said, taking in her golden blond hair that looked like a halo.

"Okay," she said. "Gazzo," She quickly added in, still smiling. Gazzieur raised an eyebrow. I snorted at the court-jester like nickname.

"Gaaaaazzzzoooooooo," he burped.

"More like Gassy," I thought aloud, as everyone cringed away from his gargantuan belch.

"Gaaaaaaazzzzzyyyy," He burped. "I like that," He grinned. I didn't point out that I said Gassy, Gazzy was more well-suited for him anyway. Gazzieur was much too fancy name for him. We discussed nicknames for about ten minutes. I chose to keep my nickname, Max, as opposed to the 'Maxi' and the 'Maxa' that was offered. Fang kept his nickname. Funny, after all the years I've known him he hasn't told me his real name. Iglande became Iggy and Nudgelie was shortened to Nudge. It wasn't hard to get used to the nicknames, since each one suited each of us so well. Let's face it, we weren't Maxima, Angela, Nudgelie, Gazzieur, Iglande, and whatever Fang's real name is. We were Max, Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang. Noting the allegiant geese flying above and the loyalty that we feel toward each other that grew in (it seemed) only a few hours, I realized something.

"We're a flock," I whispered.

**Iggy's POV**

She may have whispered it, but we all heard it. _We're a flock. We're a flock._ The phrase bounced around my head. She was right. We only met her and Fang one or two days ago, and Gazzy and Nudge a few hours ago, but no one could deny the bond that has formed between all of us. I'm not saying I automatically liked all of them. To be honest, Gazzy was kind of annoying, and Max put Angel and me in danger in the first place. Of course, I usually pick up on people's personalities pretty quickly, since I can't judge people on their looks. Now I know there are a bunch of non-blind people out there who don't judge people on their looks, but everyone does at first. For example, even though I've haven't seen Angel for years before I came blind, I know she probably looks innocent and defenseless by the way people treat her when she's anything but. Sure afterwards they get to know the person, but they judge them by looks first. It's natural human nature. However I feel as if I've known the Flock for years instead of less than a week. We just _clicked. "Flock," _I thought. Like a family, just a very special type of family. It sounded just right. I grinned, and we laughed and talked about our past(minus the painful parts) when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I froze. I strained to hear for what felt _off. _

"Iggy, what's wrong?" Nudge asked, accidentally bumping into me as I stood frozen in place. I held a finger up to silence her for a moment. _Angel, Max, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy. _6 people. _7 _people breathing.

**Max's POV**

Iggy thought something was wrong. Adrenaline pumped into my body as I scanned the immediate area. Everything seemed okay. I didn't see anything wrong. Just the forest. Forest green, light green, sparkly green. My head snapped to the place where I spotted the sparkle. It was silently moving through the forest. I chased after it, a half-second later I heard the rest of the flock following closely behind me. It wasn't easy. The green pretty much camouflaged with the rest of the forest. Yes it was sparkly, but barely. But we did have one very good advantage. We were fast. Much ,much faster, than whoever or whatever this was. It had the speed of an average human man. Luckily, it also had the grace. It tripped over a fallen log and we soon pinned him down. I could see why the suit was so shiny. It was the golden suit of a palace guard and it was skillfully camouflaged. He _was_ following us. He must be smart to have following us all this time without getting caught. Fang ripped off his mask, to reveal the face of what appeared to be a human man with dark hair.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Jeb Batchelder," He said. "And you have to listen to me,"

**Now I know you all hate my cliff-hanger endings but I have to make sure you keep reading somehow! I didn't want to end it with them chatting about cute, but otherwise meaningless things. Don't worry, the next chapter will be coming up soon. Oh btw, what do you guys think Fang's real name should be? Or would you rather have him tell her he named himself Fang? Please review!**

**XOXOXO,**

**Monique**


	9. Jeb

**Disclaimer: When I woke up this morning and went to the mirror, I surprisingly saw my face! Not James Patterson's, because I am not him, and I do not own the Maximum Ride series/**

**Max's POV**

"My name is Jeb Batchelder," He said. "And you have to listen to me,"

I scowled. "And why should we do that?" He stammered, "Because I know your secrets,"

"So what?" said Gazzy, clenching his small fists. "You're going to tell on us?" he said sarcastically.

"No!" Jeb said, his green eyes widening with a tear gathering in the corner, threatening to run down his moss-colored face. "You misunderstood! I want to help you! You're just as stubborn as Lilia!" He raised his voice, desperate. I froze. "You knew my mom?" I whispered.

"Max..." warned Fang. Jeb sighed. "Yes. Lilia was lovely and a great ruler of the kingdom. No offense, to your father of course, he is a kind, respectful man but he couldn't run the kingdom with the clever touch your mother always had.," His eyes sparkled when he said Lilia, and Max wondered if he more than respected Lilia. I held back tears, thinking about the day my mom left us; I was only 8. Her last words were "Never regret a kindness," It was something she always said. When I was 6 and I lent my pack of wonderfully colored crayons with the sparkles to my best friend, she never gave them back. I was so mad that I trusted her. I ran to mother, clinging to her graceful leg and she said "Never regret a kindness," It took me a while to realize what she meant by that. But then I knew, kindness makes you a better person, it's hard to be kind, especially if the results from being kind hurt you; but she told me it was always important to be kind, especially if it isn't easy. Then she told me it's important not to be an idiot either.

"Don't give yourself a reason to regret a kindness. If you're ever in danger, kindness can go flying out the window. After religion, your number one concern is your safety. Yes I want you to be kind to people that may be unkind, but not if it threatens your safety or safety of others," She said, smiling, touching my face with her smooth hand as if I was the most precious thing in the world. I glared at Jeb, trying to decide whether or not trusting him would threaten me or the people I cared about, looking at the flock. I analyzed him from his feet ,which lay painfully twisted underneath Iggy's legs, to his head, whose eyes were pleading. He looked so utterly defenseless, but he was dangerous if he knew something about us, whether or not he claimed to help us.

I leaped up, dusted myself off and said "And how do you plan on helping us Jeb?" Fang raised an eyebrow. Jeb asked me "Have you any idea where you're going?" "North, to Larrock," I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"First of all, that was a test- never plain out tell someone where you're headed. Second of all how did you plan on finding your way there without so much as a compass; it isn't as easy as going North. There are dangerous places you need to avoid in the forest, it isn't all daisies and squirrels. There are vagabonds, thieves, and will you please let me up now?" He said, annoyed. The Flock looked at me, and I nodded. If he tried to escape, we could easily let him up again. They released their hold, and he stood up.

"Please!" I said. "Have you looked as us?" We were all built with thickly corded muscles, and we were able to take down even a hundred thieves. "We're the scariest thing in this forest. Besides we can just fly away,"

"Third of all, don't assume you'll be able to fly away. You'd be surprised. Would you be able to stop a witch with a mind-controlling spell? Or perhaps a gnome with the finest, most dangerous sword, so venomous, you're poisoned by looking at it. Actually, I'd advise against flying, despite what you believe, you're not the only people in the forest. What if someone were to see you? Okay and let's say, by some miniscule chance, you make it to Larrock, unharmed. What were you going to do then? You'd have no place to stay. Well, you might, if they realized you were a princess. Oh wait a minute! There's another point! You aren't exactly some unimportant peasant off the street. You don't think anyone there wouldn't be anybody recognize a princess?" He glanced over at Gazzy and Nudge. "Oh, I'm sorry, I mean TWO princesses and a prince, Not to mention that your parents are looking for you everywhere. It's a surprise one of their guards hasn't yet found you!" Pangs of guilt shot up me. I knew father must be devastated looking for me, not to mention Gazzy and Nudge's parents. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Oh and how are you supposed to help us? You can take down a mind-controlling witch, or a poisonous gnome? You can prevent us from being recognized in Larrock?" I retorted. In response, he pulled out some clean plain gowns and suits from which he pulled out of a small leather satchel. He pulled out wigs, quill and brown ink. He pulled out a piece of parchment, that looked so fragile I was afraid to open it. How did he fit all that into a small satchel? He noticed my gaze and grinned. "Elf-made," He said, as if that explained it.

"What's this?" I asked, pinching a gown made of itchy material. "Those are you're disguises. You didn't plan in going in that, did you?" He looked at my muddy, torn, dress. We pulled on our disguises. I fitted a short black wig on my head. The flock seemed to decide at once we would trust him for now. Oh okay, we didn't have some sort of mental connection, Angel the Mind-Reader said it was okay. Jeb walked to each of us with his quill and drew in freckles on all of us. Fang wore spectacles. Jeb opened the piece of parchment, which showed to be a map. "If we avoid these places," pointing to areas on that map of crudely drawn witches, gnomes, and ogres, "we just might survive the trip," he said with a grim smile. And so we journeyed on. And so we walked, since Jeb advised us not to fly. It wasn't long before we encountered our first problem.


	10. The Mreeed

Max's POV

We didn't know where he came from. He didn't materialize in front of us or anything. He walked out from behind a tree. Yet I feel that with The Flock's heightened senses we would've been able to sense him if he was simply casually walking around. He seemed innocent enough. He had a pleasant face, and looked to be around Angel's age. He had short cinnamon colored hair. His innocent appearance put everyone on edge. We would've preferred an ogre, or some other creature. When monsters looked nice, it was usually because they had some supernatural powers or some sort of a secret weapon. He smirked at us. Angel scowled. He raised his arms in defense.

"I want no trouble," He said calmly.

"Then you'll let us pass," Jeb said, mimicking the boy's calm demeanor.

"Well sure," The boy said. "Not without a price," I laughed bitterly.

"Does it look like we have anything of value?" I said, gesturing to my companions, we were all dressed head to toe in peasant clothes.

"That's what I thought at first," The boy said. "But then I noticed your friend back there trying to hide his cheap wristband," He said, glancing over at Fang.

"It's sentimental. My father gave it to me." Fang lied smoothly. "Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure,"

"Yet it interests you enough to not want to lose it," The boy said, his smirk widening. Fang raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Are you implying that you want it simply because I do? That it doesn't matter if it's silk, or a gem, or a rock, or a bug, as long as it is of value to me?" Fang said, struggling to keep his voice even. The boy didn't blink.

"You know," The boy started, circling us, like a vulture. "there was a time that when the people of the world wanted to show their idols or gods their love and respect for them they would sacrifice something," The boy finished.

"I highly doubt anyone here loves or respects you," Jeb said calmly. The boy shrugged.

"Many civilizations did it out of fear. For if they didn't sacrifice something, their god would punish them," The boy's eyes glittered.

"It's amusing how you talk as if you are a god. Not simply a thief," I said.

"The difference between a thief and I is this. A thief takes something he desires. I take something you desire. I can measure desires" The boy cocked his head to the right. "Did you know that that little thing," He said, pointing at Fang's wristband. "Is the second most important thing to him?"

"What's the first?" I asked. The boy stared at me, incredulous, as if I was playing dumb.

"A person," He finally said, when he decided I was serious. "But I am merciful. I'll just take the wristband,"

"What or who are you anyway?" I asked.

"I am a Mreeed, child, I am known by many names but you may call me Neko," He said. "Give me the wristband, and you shall have no trouble," Fang stiffened.

"You say that you are merciful because you don't take a life. You take an object," Fang said.

"Yes," Neko said, sounding impatient.

"What if," Fang looked around and sighed, knowing he would have to reveal his secret. "What if this thing is what gives me life?" Neko raised an eyebrow. Jeb, Gazzy, and Nudge stared at Fang in confusion and shock.

"Well, that would explain it's importance to you. Nonetheless it's not my problem. Give it to me or everyone Turns," Neko said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a coin. It was gold, with something engraved on to it.

"Turns?" I said. Jeb exhaled, his eyes were hard.

"The way that Mreeds cause harm, is they turn humans -" Jeb started.

"Or people who are more than human," Neko interrupted, winking at the Flock. _So he knew._ Jeb continued as if he wasn't interrupted.

"-into their mindless servants or warriors by the flip of a _Surollo, or basically a magic coin. They feed off desired materialistic things," Jeb finished._

"_I'd rather have the wristband. I'm hungry, but I wouldn't mind a few servants" Neko said, rolling the coin, between his thumb and forefinger. "So," Neko's eyes shined. "What'll it be?"_


	11. Special Shoes

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series! **

**Hey everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review. I welcome all reviews that aren't flames. Constructive criticism is happily accepted. I know it's annoying that usually my chapters are kinda short (I'm just so excited to publish them!) so I promise I'll try to make the chapters longer. Thanks so much for reading. **

Quickly Fang ran through all his options. Could Fang deny the wristband really didn't mean anything to him? No. Too late. He had already admitted its importance. Fang realized he was tense, his muscles coiled up under the skin. Fang could fight. Fang shook his head. No, all Neko had to do is flip his coin and everyone was doomed. The Flock may be fast but they weren't _so _fast they could disarm Neko before he flipped his pretty little coin. There was only one option that guaranteed safety for the Flock. For Max. The option that Fang would do. Fang would give Neko the wristband. And Fang would die. But Max would be safe.

Max was yelling at Neko, many of the things she was yelling aren't repeatable. Jeb was trying to negotiate with him. But Fang knew that Neko wouldn't change the deal. Neko was barely even paying attention to Max or Jeb. He even appeared to be bored. But Fang knew that was a pretense. Fang knew if Neko didn't get what he wanted soon he would Turn all of them. Fang gritted his teeth, physically preparing for the pain he would experience shortly. Fang reached for his wristband.

_NO!_ Someone screamed viciously. Fang jumped, looking around. No one else seemed to notice the outburst. Fang shook his head. He was hearing things. Fang reached for his wristband again. _You fool! You idiot! You think suicide is going to help at all? _This was when Fang realized the voice was in his head. It was a very familiar voice actually. He turned slowly to find Angel glaring daggers at him. This was a surprise. So not only could Angel read minds, but she could send people thoughts. Well, that would have been useful information earlier. Angel continued to yell at Fang in his mind.

_Maybe instead of trying to be such a noble martyr, you could actually think of solution. _Angel hissed.

"What do you propose then?" Fang thought, knowing Angel was listening to his thoughts.

"He only wants the wristband because you want it. What if you wanted some other material thing more?" Angel replied in his head.

"I can't just change my desires. That's impossible," Fang thought.

"Yes but I can change your desires. Temporarily. I forgot to mention I can well, _influence_, people. I can make you desire something more than your wristband. But you need to help me. You need to choose an object that you already value, I'll increase it's importance to you and you can give that to Neko instead of your wristband," Angel sent the thought. Fang grinned.

"You're a genius Angel," Fang thought. Fang looked around for a material to use._ It has to be something I already slightly want. _His shoes. His eyes flickered to Angel and she nodded. He began to think of reasons he loved his shoes. They were probably the only thing(besides his wristband) he was wearing that wasn't part of a disguise. It was something he already owned, a piece from home. Fang felt his mind grow slightly fuzzy as Angel helped him increase his desire for his shoes. The reasons began to flow in faster now, even though they were small and didn't make much sense. They were soft, leather shoes that were already worn and molded to his feet. They were surprisingly durable, Fang thought, although they didn't look like much. They were open-toed, which Fang liked. His mind grew fuzzier. Suddenly, he valued his shoes so much it seemed to be that his shoes were the one thing that Fang couldn't live without. Nothing was more important than Fang's shoes.

Fang didn't know if this was Angel's doing or not, but his view of his wristband started to change as well. He always valued his wristband, because it reminded him that once when he was dying, someone gave him this amazing treasure and saved his life. He wasn't just some worthless servant. He meant something to someone. And maybe that someone was one of his parents. The wristband use to always give him hope. Now, for some reason, Fang despised it. Why shouldn't he despise it? It was such a stupid weakness. It didn't matter if Fang was strong to the point that he was invincible, if somehow got that wristband off of him, he was dead. Instantly. He glared at the wristband in hatred.

"You know what? You can HAVE it!" He yelled at Neko. Everyone(except Angel) stared at Fang in shock. Especially Max, who had never seen him lose his temper so suddenly. Even Neko raised an eyebrow. "I don't even care if I die! Obviously, since this wristband is keeping me alive in the first place, I probably shouldn't be alive now. Maybe now you'll have to deal with this stupid curse!" Fang started to pull at the wristband, but stopped when a sharp pang of pain ran up his arm. He gritted his teeth and was about to try again when Neko interrupted him.

"I don't want it," Neko said plainly.

"No! Take it! Put me out of my misery!" Fang cried, pulling uselessly at his wristband again. Suddenly he couldn't. Someone (maybe Iggy?) surrounded him and pinned his arms behind his back.

"No. I want your shoes," Neko said. A bloodcurdling scream ripped through Fang's body. Nothing mattered more than his shoes. _Nothing._

"NO! Kill me! Kill me!" Someone screamed. Fang realized that 'someone' was him. Fang went into hysterics. The entire Flock surrounded Fang and pinned him to the ground. Fang's body was racking and jerking back and forth under the weight weight. Tears ran in streams down his face. He was only vaguely aware of the Flock yelling things. He was only aware of the fact that Angel was carefully removing the shoes after his feet. "No!" Fang kept on screaming. Then he blacked out.

Max's POV

After Neko got Fang's shoes he disappeared with a smirk. Angel explained the plan to the everyone while Jeb was trying to get Fang to regain consciousness. My eyes welled with frustrated tears. I couldn't stop seeing that horrible look of extreme pain on Fang's face. He looked like he was being burned at stake. I was a little bit angry with Angel. Did she have to make him love his shoes so much? Did she have to make him hate his wristband? He nearly killed himself. I knew my anger was unreasonable, that Angel had to do that to convince Neko to take something that wouldn't kill Fang. Angel came up to Max and touched her arm sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made the desire or hatred _that_ strong. I suppose I don't know my own strength," She smiled sadly. "When he wakes up he probably won't remember what happened,"

"Why?" I spat. "Did you erase his memory too?" I knew I was being incredibly rude, but I couldn't help it.

"No," Angel sounded hurt. "He was just in so much pain, his brain might have erased the terrible memory itself. Don't worry, I'm not mind-controlling him anymore. I try to avoid doing that, unless I absolutely need to because I feel terrible when I brainwash people. He'll be fine, Max, don't worry," Angel grinned reassuringly. Max nodded and walked to where Fang lay on a blanket. She kneeled down next to his head. Beads of sweat lay on his forehead, which Max wiped away. At least he was breathing.

"He should be fine," Jeb promised. "Just a bit shell-shocked. He's a strong boy, he should wake soon," Max nodded, trying to find comfort in Jeb's words and stared at Fang's face. She stared at him, and willed him to wake up.

**Good? Bad? If you have any ideas on what you want to happen next, tell me people! I'm still debating on how long Fang should be unconscious and how long it'll take for him to fully recover. **

**XOXOXOXO,**

**Monique**


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